Forming a Routine

For those of you still left reading this potentially long-winded blog (Hi Mom and Dad!), I have some good news! We've now started to follow a rather solid routine here in Coban, and that means a bit more repetition of things. The importance of this to the "I'll-scan-the-text-and-look-at-the-pictures" reader? I have less to tell, so you have less to read!

9/15 Thursday (Guatemalan Independence day)
Guatemala gained its Independence from Spain on this day in 1821, and, must like our 4th of July de Los Estados Unidos, they've been partying on that day every year since. A long, fancy parade marches down the street. Kids show off their exorbitant "Indepencia" costumes while marching in lines. I found it quite amusing, and reflected upon what it would be like for one of these Guatemalans to attend the 4th of July Parade through Chanhassen. Below is a video of the experience.

Our morning consisted of taking in the parade. During our afternoon, a monk invited us to lunch with one of the local "jovenes" (young people) from the parish. After stopping in a nice roadside restaurant neighboring a dairy farm and an endless range of looming mountains, we stopped by a bar on the way back to the monastery. It was still light out, but eh...what the heck? You can only celebrate Guatemalan's Independence once a year.

The bar session was interesting. I sampled several different beers, and I settled on Moza as my favorite. When I say "favorite," this doesn't mean I was impressed. These bloggers describe the beer well: http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Beer/Beer-Ratings.asp?BeerID=6975
I like dark beers, and this had to be the closest thing that I could get to a Guinness. Everyone likes "Gallo" down here, but the taste of it reminds me of a rundown multiplex in Saint Joseph, MN. Good memories, not so good beer. Oh well, I'm sure I'll get used to it.

A few necessary events to recount from the bar: 1) After several plays from random latino singers, my jukebox pick of Michael Jackson's "Will You Be There?" blasted loudly from the speakers. The locals were slightly confused but seemed to enjoy it. 2) I was able to explain the concept of "icing" to the locals of the bar. 3) A street vender came in trying to sell ripped-off CD's to everyone. After declining a CD, I bought the guy a beer instead. He happily enjoyed drinking the one beer and talking for about 20 minutes with me. Before taking off, he offered any CD on his carry-along rack. I asked him for the CD with the best party music. He gave me some ridiculous Reggaetone CD that I have since lost.
Biggest disappointment about the whole ordeal? Forgot my camera. Sorry folks! There'll be a next time.

We arrived back at the monastery in time for a quick bite to eat and a Sopranos episode before retiring for the night.

9/16 Friday

Montezuma finally turned his ugly head. I was up several times during the night. No nausea, just... well... bad times. Having seen Justin suffer for just under a week, I wasn't messing around. Time for stool sample testing (costs about $3). Verdict? Parasites, or as they say here, "Las amoebas." Got the proper pills from the pharmacy and spent the rest of the day in my room. Even by 3 or 4pm, I felt better. No further problems after the administration of the antibiotics. Dinner and Sopranos once again capped the night.

9/17 Saturday

Notre Dame finally wins! I think Bernie was more excited than I was.. I'm too used to seeing these guys tank in clutch situations at the end, like another team I know (Damn it Vikes!). After the Irish victory, our relaxing afternoon consisted of reading, plucking the guitar, and munchin' on our football game snacks. Nothing exceptional; just a day in the life. Livin' the dream!

9/18 Sunday

A similar approach was taken to the Vikes game on Sunday (unfortunately our team for the day didn't win this time). Justin and I bought fried chicken from a cheap restaurant down the road from the monastery and explored the town a bit. The day ended as it always does: Prayer, (Mass, maybe), dinner, Sopranos episode.

9/19 Monday - 9/21 Wednesday

Our work for this week has resulted in slow progress. With the installation of Linux on the computers, several CPUs will sometimes fail to install the software. Seeing as all these computers were made in the 90's, downloading and operating are slow. Way slow. I think the paint for the screens dried faster than some of these old Packard Bell towers.  While it can be frustrating, it still gives me a chance to practice my Spanish with Alberto, the fellow Guatemalan worker that actually opens these computers up and fixes them.
The wires are mangled... yellow here, blue there, orange under this and that. I am amazed that this guy knows all this computer mechanics, but I've began to notice that many Guatemalans are mechanically inclined. Cars are a rare purchase here, so more people choose to learn how to address mechanical issues themselves. This is, after all, the reason there is a hardware store in every block of this town. Ethernet cables, audio splitters, tools, gizmos, power cords and surge protectors are sold in the stores and on the street like they're the next big thing.
While quite shy, Alberto is great company and is doing his best to make us feel welcome. After morning work on Tuesday, Alberto invited me to a pick-up futbol game on the basketball court. 3-on-3, and the goals consisted of wooden boards constructed into a small 4'x4' square. I wore running shoes, shorts, and a workout shirt while the Guatemalans wore jeans, polos, and either hiking or rain boots.
To make a long story short, I was embarrassed beyond belief. I did manage to score 3 goals, but that didn't come without a long breather break in the middle of the game, as well as very slow walks to either end of the court during the game, which lasted about an hour and a half. During my break, I did manage to snap some great photos of the guys...

Rubber boots?

Can't lose your footing on this pavement... you'll bust your knee open

Alberto about to score

After work on Tuesday, Alberto and Oscar (another worker and great friend, a bit more outgoing than Alberto) took us out to a chinese restaurant. The food was great; very filling. During dinner, Oscar and Alberto invited us to a soccer match on Sunday between Coban Imperial and a neighboring pueblo's team. We're very excited to be in the crazy atmosphere of a fubol match... rivalries get intense down here!

9/22 Thursday

Thursday was a rather eventful day. I was able to recommence my Spanish lessons and set a schedule with Mirna, my Spanish tutor (now I will be having lessons twice a week, Monday and Wednesday at 4:00p.m.). We also were fortunate enough to meet Carlos Estrada, another friend of Bernie's. Carlos had us over, along with many other Bernie friends (Raul, Chilio, Maria, Donal), all adults from the ages of around 45-60. We dined on a wonderful steak dinner with plenty of whiskey for all.

9/23 Friday

Today was a slower day. We went out for breakfast in the morning, and Bernie told us to take the afternoon to catch up on things like blogging. I'm anxious to get more work done around here, but it is just a slower process than the fast-paced work environment in the United States, and I've come to accept that. I always have a laundry list of things to do when I have spare time, so I don't ever anticipate being bored here. This evening, I experienced my first migraine ever in my life. It wasn't too bad after a nap and a couple Advil, but I now know from experience that migraines are not fun.

Tomorrow morning I wake early to go help teach English to students at the local university. This will be a great way for me to work on my Spanish a bit as well. Hope everyone back home is having a good fall. To all those attending Homecoming this weekend, cheers! Have a blast and go Johnnie Red. Thanks for reading... more to come!

P.S. I forgot to mention in a few posts back that when we went to mass at Livingston, the offertory song at the Mass was the same exact tune as Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind." The words were different, but I was baffled by the fact that some cantor had taken Dylan's tune and put religious lyrics with it. Unique, huh? It's simple things like that that help define the contraction of the "travel bug."

Livin' the Dream in Livingston

I finally have time to blog the week! As usual, the weekend flew by, and all of a sudden I'm left wondering, "Was that trip to the Caribbean a dream? Did I really live that?" Pictures are great for keepin' my story straight.

9/9 Friday

Biggest Export in Puerto Barrios

A travel day. After five hours on exhaustingly long, curvy roads, Justin and I finally arrived in the evening at Puerto Barrios, a barge city used mostly for industrial purposes (Biggest export in the harbor this past weekend? Chiquita Bananas, of course). We were warmly welcomed by a monk's family. The night consisted of Mass, Dinner, and hammock/reading time, bed. The food was good, and hospitality better.

9/10 Saturday

View from our Hotel Deck

While it took a bit longer than we expected to get up and at 'em in the morning, Justin and I finally got a ride to the boat launch, where we would take a $5, 15 minute boat ride across the Caribbean Sea to a beautiful, touristy port village. Because of the cheap prices due to a recent lull in tourism, Justin and I found a room for $25 a night, fully equipped with a posh restaurant overlooking a beautiful view of the Sea and walk-out to a private beach. Couldn't get much better. Justin and I took an hour or two collecting necessities from the village: food, ice (which came as one big block of ice in a sealed plastic bag), drinks, and a few cheap trickets. After gathering this important material, we spent the rest of the day reading, swimming, and lounging around on the beach. It was a wonderful rejuvenation of the senses.

Our night was rather interesting. In trying to find a proper place to dine, we came across "Alexandar the Great," a local who told us he knew were the best food was in town. We decided to trust him. Although what appeared to be at first a sketchy situation turned into a blossoming night: Our fried fish and "moriscos" soup was served right by the oceanside by a poor Garifuna family.

The Garifuna are descendants of runaway slaves from the 17th Century (please read about them!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garifuna_people). The Garifuna have their own bastardization of the Roman Catholic faith. They also speak their own language, and live primarily in Central America. There are about 600,000 Garifuna in the world, and the only community in Guatemala exists in Livingston.

Regardless, they make GREAT seafood. Our meal was relatively cheap, and even though we had to pay off our tour guide "Alexander the Great,"it was worth it.

9/11 Sunday
After taking a small amount of time to reflection upon the tragedies which occurred on this day ten years ago, I was swiftly reminded of the impact of 9/11/11 in Guatemala: The Presidential Election! The night before, while we were returning home, we were followed by a huge mob marching down the main street of Coban. After thinking that us two gringos were doomed, Justin had quickly reminded me of the demonstrators/protesters that would likely be out in full force due to presidential elections.

Centro de Votacion

Today was no different. As we walked off to our boat tour for the day, we saw a huge line outside of the biggest building in Livingston. The building had a big sign above the entrance, "CENTRO DE VOTACION" with several hundred people lingering outside. Streets were blocked off with police caution tape, and villagers would casually walk under and over the yellow tape. Soldiers stood idle nearby with shotguns in their hands. Pretty intense.

Policeman Moderating at Voting Center

While the voting situation was intriguing, Justin and I were definitely happy to hop on a boat for a nice tour of the Rio Dulce, the coast along Livingston and beyond. The ride cost about $12 bucks, and was probably worth $100. Our first stop was at the Seven Altars (see http://guatemalaguides.com/Izabal/25-02-2011-A-destination-with-Seven-Altars.htm). We took as many pictures as possible, enjoyed the water, and tried our best to soak up the atmosphere. The pictures won't do this trip justice, but neither will my words...

Seven Altars

Jumping from the Highest Altar

Our second stop was on a white sandy beach further along the Rio Dulce. Here, we were served Coco Loco (Rum served in a coconut) and a few Gallo beers. While Justin read in one of the several hammocks along the beach, I chose to explore the stretch of beach as best I could. Snapped quite a few great pictures (all of which are copyrighted, all rights reserved... I may add haha). I continued exploring until a pack of wild, seemingly starving dogs began to follow me. As I turned back to return to the beach, the alpha male began to flank me on the right while the others began to close in on the left.

White Sand Beach Stop

Rio Dulce

Hungry wild dogs

"They're beginning to surround me!" I thought. Immediately I grabbed a large stick off the ground and ran ahead of all the dogs, yelling nonsense and batting the air with my natural dog-smacking club. As I passed the Alpha Male swinging the stick in the air, he growled and barked at me, almost as if in disappointment that I wasn't interested in contracting Rabies. So long as I didn't turn my back on those dogs, they did not advance on me, and I made it back safely to "base beach."

Once our time was up on this beautiful get-away spot, we returned to Livingston quite satisfied from our adventures. After grabbing a cheap burger at a local diner and snapping a few more pictures of the Voting extravaganza, we returned to our hotel for more lounging and napping.

Streets of Livingston

Afternoon turned into evening, soon enough it was time to get dinner. One problem: we're outta cash. With some footwork and a few discussions with the locals, we discover that none of the ATM machines (x2) currently work in the village. What to do? Thankfully, we found a restaurant which accepted cards. The next morning, the ATM was functional, and we were able to get money for the way home. Regardless, this put a bit of a stopper on our Sunday night. We needed to be conservative with the cash that we did have; thus, a few minutes of horrible television coverage of the election, then it was off to bed.

9/12 Monday
We awoke to overcast skies and a light rain. Time to get in a boat! After getting safety cash, Justin and I hopped in the commuter boat for a wet ride back to Puerto Barrios and our 11:00am departing bus. After a few abrupt stops, bus switches, phone drops (yup, I lost my Guatemalan phone. Good thing they only cost like $20 to buy), we were dropped off at Rancho (neighboring village of Coban). Here, we were picked up by a commuter van which can seat 15, but typically was jammed with about 25 people. These commuter vans try to fill up spaces as much as possible, making for a very congested 1.5 hour return to Coban. All the while, I've been reading Mario Puzo's The Godfather, so I was quite occupied, especially important for some of the more claustrophobic moments of transportation. Returning to the monastery was like returning home. Thank God to be back in a familiar place with a familiar face.

9/13 Tuesday
Back to work! Today we moved several donated medicare beds from the monastery over to the old folk's home in downtown Coban. The work was hard, as the beds were very heavy, but also rewarding.  The afternoon consisted of more computer work, along with a nice Gallo beer happy hour with our work partners Alberto and Oscar. After a few beers, we went out to dinner at a local Chinese restaurant. By the time I finished with that meal, I was busting at the seams. No surprise, however, that I was hungry an hour later.
(Chinese food is weird like that... ya always get hungry sooner than expected. Man, if you're someone that likes eating, you belong in China. John Murray must be in heaven right now).

9/14 Wednesday
Yesterday consisted of more computer work. As I may have mentioned before, we are working through about 60 donated computers. The plan is to bring these computers to the aldeas (that have electricity) and train the people in how to use computer programming and educational software. The project is still in the beginning stages, as right now we are checking the functionality of the donated Desktops.
Here are the statistics after Wednesday's testing...

CPU's/Hard drives
Functional: 40 Nonfunctional: 20

Monitors
Functional: 48 Nonfunctional: 12

Keyboards
Functional: 50 Nonfunctional: 10

Mice:
Functional: 52 Nonfunctional: 8

Not bad. Fr. Bernie is a computer wiz, so he will probably be able to get a few of the nonfunctional CPU's up-and-running as well. All in all, I expect we'll be able to distribute 50 computers to poor villages around the area. This may not seem like much, but the educational impact of this program has endless possibilities for these people.

9/15 Thursday
Now that we've worked through the initial testing portion, it's now time for us to work on the computer programming bit. Giovanni, a tech student of the local university and friend of Bernie, has offered his help with assisting us in the installation of the Linux programming. Today, I anticipate a few trial runs with this new software on the computers. Hopefully we can get this machines up and running for the villagers soon!

Also, today is Guatemala's Independence Day, so fireworks, drums, yelling and street dances will be taking place all day today. If we get the chance, we'll take a break from our computer work to watch a few parades and musical performances (as long as it remains safe). Should be fun!

Man Down...time.

Much has occurred since my last entry; yet again, not much at all. Since Friday, we have remained at the monastery for a majority of the past week. Justin has since gotten quite sick with amoebas, parasites, and Guardia, and only today has he started feeling better. So, with him resting, sleeping, and generally experiencing a trip to Hell and back, I have been left to my own devices. While I've definitely managed to keep myself busy, some preparatory work has seemed like downtime in comparison to a trip to an aldea. The good news about this: 1. We will be amply prepared for our next aldea trips; 2. This blog entry need not be too long!

9/3 Saturday
A lazy Saturday after an exhausting week felt great. I woke recalling that Justin had gotten up an estimated 16 times during the night to a sudden onslaught of illness. Justin looked like he had been hit by a train. Fr. Bernie and I took Justin's product in a lab for any semblance of sickness. While waiting, Fr. Bernie and I purchased a slew of snacks and beer for the big Notre Dame game that afternoon.
We returned with the results, notifying Justin of his stool's status and giving him the proper medication from "la farmacia." For the rest of the afternoon, Justin rested while we watched our beloved Fighting Irish get stopped by the infamous Southern Florida Bulls. Similar to the game in South Bend, the day was raddled with thunder and heavy rain. Nevertheless, we received our Notre Dame game via Fr. Bernie's cool "Slingbox" program, which receives all the main channels from Minnesota. Later on, Fr. Bernie's friend Raul enjoyed whiskey drinks with us as we tried to explain to him what was going on in the appalling Notre Dame showdown.

9/4 Sunday
Didn't think a day could get lazier, but Sunday proved to top Saturday. Slept in late, played guitar, read a book in the hammock, I did whatever I could to relax and live the passive Guatemalan lifestyle. I was beginning to think the day was lost to laziness, yet I was wrong!
Fr. Bernie had recently ordered about 60 computers (monitors, CPU's, "mice," keyboards, the works) donated to the monastery. The computers will go to any Aldea that has access electricity. Justin and I will be assisting the people of the aldeas in learning the way of the computer and how to utilize it for educational programs. Today, Bernie got news that the truck had arrived in Coban. Time to start unloading!
The truck was huge, and even with 6 sturdy hombres, we managed to unload the whole load in 2 hours. In the process, I met Oscar and Alberto, both frequent workers of the monastery. After talking with them for a bit, I realized two things: 1) I would be spending a lot of time working with these two fine gentlemen, and 2) I spoke pure spanish for about 2 hours long! I didn't even realize it, but I had gotten very comfortable with using my broken Spanish. While it still needs work, I am proud that I was able to carry conversation. I shared about 4 beers with these guys (after I brought down a few of my own "Budweiser," Oscar insisted on continuing to go down to a local "tienda" and purchase the native "Gallo" beer for everyone to drink.
That night, I got the great hour of dining at Chilio and Maria's house, also friends of Fr. Bernie. Chilio and Maria live on a small piece of farmland in a neighboring pueblo. They have a thin, tall son Alexanjro who is 15, and a very pretty daughter Ines who is 17. During the whole dinner (which was outside under a white tent overlooking beautiful Guatemalan farm landscape) Ines was all over her boyfriend, Tavo, who was 23. Dinner included the best steak I've ever had, the best chips and guacamole I've ever had, and lots of whiskey. I was a happy man. After some liquid confidence, I began to try and put some personality into my Spanish. It worked; I ended up swapping numbers with Tavo (college student), who said that he would call me about a party a week from this Friday. I hope I can work my Spanish up enough for that one!

9/5 Monday

Organizing Wet Photos on Deck

Couldn't make it to 6:00a.m. prayer today for gulping whiskey like a sailor on Sunday; Justin couldn't make it as he was still sick as a sailor. After breakfast, I spent my morning sifting through old monastery photos which had been subject rainwater from a large crack in the darkroom. Unfortunately, many of the photographs were not salvageable. While this work wasn't necessary pro-altruistic, I know the importance of old photos and recognized the immediacy of the issue. Lunch and mid-day prayer came and went, and I soon found myself stuck in the hammock after siesta time. My hammock snooze turned into an all afternoon nap as rain drizzled in patterns of intensity on the deck roof. Evening prayer, dinner, bed.

Painting Screens for Projectors

9/6 Tuesday
Justin, either getting better or being too sick of the room, decided to get back at it today. We finished our paint job from last Friday (see rightt), and spent the afternoon trying to pick up a few necessities at the supermarket (to no avail- both of our debit cards failed to withdraw money from the ATM due to logisitcal mix-ups. I care not to bore my readers with this, but know that for possibly the next week I am without money in a different country. Whoops!). This, by the way, was my second solo trip with the Suzuki Jeep. Aside from a pretty much worthless drive to-and-from the supermarket, a didn't stall out the car to embarrassment this time! I just couldn't put the damn thing in reverse when trying to leave the monastery... Justin and I had to kick it in neutral and back it up manually :/. Dinner was a typical black bean and tortilla extravaganza. This called for the only snack we had: microwave popcorn. This, along with glass-bottled Coke and "The Untouchables" concluded our Tuesday.

9/7 Wednesday
Today was almost a full day, and I have just realized that my readers don't know what a "full day" is in the monastery. Check this schedule out:

6:00a.m. Morning Prayer
7:00a.m. Breakfast
8:00a.m. Morning Work Period Begins
12:30p.m. Mid-Day Prayer
12:45p.m. Lunch
1:00p.m. - 2:30p.m. Siesta
2:30p.m. Afternoon Work Period Begins
5:30p.m. Evening Prayer (Vespers)
6:00p.m. Mass
7:00p.m. Dinner
7:30p.m. - 8:15p.m. Vigil Prayer

A bit o' structure, huh? Its taken some getting used to, and by no means are Justin and I required to attend all of these events. It is expected (as it well should) that we participate in the community. Thus, I've configured a schedule to keep myself sane (I am, after all, not at all considering vows or whatnot). An hour for God is sufficient, and if I'm around, I'll go. Thus, Today, I went to Morning, Mid-day, and Evening Prayer, and chose to skip Mass to figure out my bank situation and blog. It may take longer to continue and figure out what is comfortable for me, but I am wary not to structure myself out too much. I need a bit o' time as well, ya know!

The whole day was spent testing the donated computers in the Faith Formation Buildings. We've only cycled through the monitors. Of 60 monitors donated, 50 worked. I was impressed with this figure, but Fr. Bernie seemed quite disappointed. We'll see what the CPU's, keyboards, etc. bring for the rest of the week. See Photos below...

Organizing Donated Computers

Does it work?

We would have much rather been visiting with locals or aldeas, but Justin and I reflected upon the fact that preparation time for these computers was necessary in order to benefit the people of the aldeas, even if we weren't seeing them face-to-face immediately.

One other point: one of the monks, Rolando, offered to take us this weekend on a trip to Puerto Barrio, a beautiful Port town on the Atlantic Ocean! He has business up there, and offered the opportunity for us to join him. Justin and I were overjoyed. After a week of feeling isolation inside the monastery walls, we were elated to hear that we would be on an another adventure by 8:00a.m. Friday. Get ready for some great photos... Puerto Barrio looks beautiful!

Week 2... Una Aldea y La Antigua

September 2, 2011

8/30 Tuesday

Most of the morning was spent catching up with blogging, e-mail correspondence, and documentation of the aldea experiences. In the afternoon, we met up with Fr. Bernie's friend Giovanni. Giovanni is a tech student at the local university; he specializes in information technology, and he will be teaching us how to install and use the free software LINUX on all the computers we are supplying to the aldeas. After a brief but helpful lesson with the computers, we enjoyed an episode of Sopranos prior to heading off to prayer, Mass, dinner, and bed.

8/31 Wednesday

Most of the day consisted of a trip out to the Ostou Aldea, where we delivered the most amount of filters we ever have in one day. Below is a video of preparing for the filter delivery:

The process for presentation and exchange of the filters was the same as days prior. After about an hour of listening to non-distinguishable Qui'Che instructions about how to use the filter, I dismissed myself to play futbol with the little ninos outside. 

It would have been better if I had stayed in the village community center. After about 10 minutes I was exhausted, and the kids had made a fool of me. see the progression of my energy in the photos below..

After handing out several filters and enjoying the typical pollo soup and fresco, we walked down the main road in the aldea to a central intersection where we could be picked up by someone going into town.

While I had anticipated receiving my first Spanish lesson today, my Spanish teacher called and cancelled the meeting, saying she had a family emergency and that she would call next week. While I would have loved to improve my Spanish, I wasn't distraught by the news. This gave me time to rest from the aldea trip.

Since we weren't going to be working on Thursday, Bernie suggested that we have a few drinks tonight. We weren't opposed, so Bernie flipped the keys to the Suzuki Jeep to me, passively saying, "Don't crash it." You got it, Bernie. 

We had no problems until we were actually leaving the supermarket with our new slew of booze, toiletries, food, and other necessities. Just as I'm driving up to the guard building to hand him the ticket to leave, the car stalls out. I try to shift over into first, and it stalls out again. I did this about 8 times before finally shifting into first safely and departing with a flushed face, nervously trying to avoid eye contact from the people waiting in the cars around me. Since this situation, however, I believe I've gotten a handle on the car, and I feel less nervous about using a manual transmission.

We polished off the night with some delicious whisky drinks. Bernie's friend Raul came to visit, and we swapped stories and shared laughs till late at night.

9/1Thursday

We began yesterday with an early start… 3:30a.m. Our plan: bring Padre Pedro to Antigua for a doctor's appointment, spend a few hours touring around Antigua, and drive back on the same day. Why leave so early? Antigua is about a 5 hour drive away.

The day was great, apart from the twisty, turny road that led to and from Antigua. Upon arriving, we stopped at Pollo Campero (Guatemalan-native fast food restaurant, fasted fast-food I've ever had). After dropping Padre Pedro off at the doctor, Fr. Bernie took us around town and showed us several beautiful churches, vast plazas and parks, and busy, never-ending markets. The city is overshadowed by a handful of volcanoes, especially Volcan Agua, which towers ominously on the east side of the city.

As great as Antigua was, Justin and I happened to have some bad luck with our cameras. I forgot my battery (which I had set out to charge the night before), and Justin's camera died right when we arrived. While I don't have pictures to assist with this day, I will return to Antigua for a weekend soon, and I will show you this gorgeous, Spain-looking city.

Our return was long and included a few eat stops, naps and books. It was right to bed when we returned.

9/2 Friday

Today has and will be spent doing some paint-jobs in the newly erected faith formation buildings. Several cement walls within these buildings will be used for projectors, and Fr. Bernie planned on painting the walls white with a black outlining, creating a movie theatre-like feel for several rooms. Pics to come!